Expired black/white 120mm film for disappearing reality

I think I could not live in a world without colors, have you seen the movie Pleasentville? Colors simbolize passion, but for photography, black & white can be a good way for express emotion, sometimes we need colors to express some feeling, others times black & white can be a perfect choice.

I didn’t use a lot 120 film rolls because in Kunming there were only 2 labs where to have 120mm developed. In addition there are many construction sites around the city, because the local government has decided to change the skyline: they are building skyscapers, underground lines and for this reason the traffic is terrible. Unfortunatelly now both labs are closed, (one was totally demolished), but on January I discovered an independent professional photographers lab. Still far, but now I can have developed in the same place 120mm black & white,120mm colors, 120mm slide, they cross process, and they even sell films☺

Anyway, last December I finally decided how to use an expired 120mm black & white film I found in a small lab, that now doesn’t sell films anymore and only prints digital photo. I felt that I had in my hand something precious, 120mm film are rare in Kunming, so I decided to use my 120mm to shoot a becoming rare reality. Kunming city is changing its face and everyday is full of new high buildings, fashion shopping mall and traditional life is getting very rare. People have meal at fastfood, or at Chinese Chain restaurants and if they have their meal at home they buy the food at Carrefour, Wallmart, Metro, Trust Mart. The main reason is because a lot of old open markets were destroyed because they were in old urban area. So I took my Lubitel 166+ and move around in an old area that I know it will be destroyed soon: open market, alleys … I wanted to have a piece of this kind of life that tomorrow will gone away.

- Woman watering vegetables with a bottle of Sprite, of course there is no Sprite inside. The bottle cap was drilled to release water when press the bottle.

- Legumes’ peeler, and potatoes’ peeler sellers, not easy to see in a supermarket, this make me remember some cartoons

- Mother with kid in a basket

- The butcher. Even in the supermarket there is a butcher, but believe me, you have a totally different breathe …

- Chinese Ducks, perhaps one of the few traditions that will not disappear, maybe will survive with modern oven

- Cow carcasses outside a small restaurant

- The peddler of fried potatoes, peeling potatoes

- The peddler keys maker

- The peddler of slippers and pajamas

- Girl waiting for costumers, in the meantime she reads and protects her skin from the sun with a coat

- Girl washing her hair in the street

- Couples watching TV in their small ironmonger’s shop

All photo were shoot with a Lubitel166+ and an expired roll of Lucky SHD 120mm

Ciao! My name is Dominique. I’m Italian and I’m proud to be a mix, my father is Italian with Greek and Polish heritage and my mother is Haitian with Dominican, Spanish, French heritage. Being a mix make me appreciate to want to understand different cultures and lifestyles. I grew up in Italy, lived few years in Haiti, seven years in China, four in Spain and UK. Traveling makes me feel that we can learn something from every situation in every part of the world.